Date:         Wed, 22 May 1996 13:23:16 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         wabbott@mtest.teradyne.com (William Abbott)
Subject:      CV Joint repacking- axle removal.

	Bus/Bug/Ghia/etc Rear CV joints and front inners for syncros are 
cylinders with flat ends- no splines to worry about- the six in-hex or 
12-point head bolts that pin the boot flange to the joint and the joint 
to the final-drive or stub axle are all you have to remove. Both
the final drive and the axle stub have little lips that go up 
around the away-from-the-axle side of the CV, so you can pull all
six bolts out and the CV will probably stay put- but for safety, leave
one bolt in finger-tight while you do the other end.

	When removing or installing axles, some advise jacking up the
wheel (rather than the vehicle) so that the axle is basicly going in
a straight line between final-drive and wheel- I've never seen the
sense in this and don't bother. A healthy CV has a certain amount
of in-and-out-motion available, so after you unbolt BOTH ends, pull
the axle away from one end and it should separate. Its heavy, don't
drop it. Now manuver the free end somewhere you can pull toward
and pull out the other end. 

	Before re-installing, clean the cup the CV bolts to with
WD-40 and a clean cloth or paper-towel- you want no dirt or
old grease or anything else in there. Also make sure you clean the
mating surface of the CV (which shouldn't have anything on it except
nice clean new CV grease that just wipes away) 

	I always put a little anti-sieze on the threads of the CV bolts.
I've never had to do CVs on the same vehicle twice, so I can't say
if it works or not, but it hasn't hurt.

	Bill